Space Suit of the Week

Emilio Pucci designed the Space Bubble Helmet for Dallas-based Braniff Airlines in 1965. These glass bubble domes were designed to keep flight attendants hairstyles from getting ruined on the windy tarmac. Pucci designed the attendents uniforms with the same flair and bright patterns that he is known for. Braniff wanted to create a new way of flying and branded itself as the rebel airline; Pucci was hired by Wells, Rich, Greene along with New Mexico architect Alexander Girard and shoe designer Beth Levine to design the “End of the Plain Plane” campaign. The air fleet was painted in nine different colors with bright Herman Miller interiors that matched the vibrancy of its airline crew.

The Braniff brand became a new jet-setting lifestyle. The Pucci space helmet, while being sophisticated and elegant, was playful in an era where headwear was dominated by military caps & wool pill boxes (a la Jackie Kennedy). It gave color and vibrancy to a jet-setting, moon-landing era. Similarly, Pucci designed the Apollo 15 patch of three stylized birds flying over the lunar surface – further proof that there is nothing plain to human flight.

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WRITTEN BY

Alana Zimmer

Alana Zimmer is an adventurer seeking new sights and new heights. After finishing a degree in Art History, she worked with NASA Ames Research Center's New Media Innovation Team. She is currently writing, and exploring the cosmos in foggy San Francisco.